Stark White Thunder
by Neyei
Summary: AU. Hiashi wasn't quite swift enough, and Hinata's kidnapping attempt was successful. Raised in Kumo, brought up to hate Konoha and everything it stands for, how different will Hinata turn out? Ten years later, faced with Konoha-nin during her first chunin exams, will her loyalties be divided? Especially when she meets a certain knuckle-headed ninja whose smile she cannot forget?
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

A KNIFE IN THE DARK

The Hyuuga compound stretched before the intruder in the darkness. He eyed its stern white walls, standing forbiddingly tall, with growing wariness. Inside them, rows of houses lined up in neat patterns. He pressed on, slithering stealthily near the ground, his hands locked so tightly into a handseal they trembled. A precarious camouflage genjutsu was his only lifeline, and the reason he'd been chosen for this mission.

It was a clever thing: a technique of suggestion. Slowly, he weaved his chakra into subtle signals that crept gently into the guards' minds. And though they scoured the compound, all-seeing, they overlooked him as though part of the scenery, a meaningless object blending into the background so neatly, they'd glance around and over and behind him, their brains not even registering the threat. Without hiding him, it made reality around him more pronounced, more eye-catching, infinitely more vivid and interesting to look at. It diverted the attention of drowsy, bored sentinels who had not dealt with a serious threat in months, mainly because no one dared.

The jutsu had one clear, fatal limitation: focus. If a single eye looked at him, truly, directly at him, he was dead. And worse, disgraced - a failure.

Silently, he sent a prayer up to the thunder god. Then he scuttled between two little houses, past a deserted courtyard, towards the heart of the compound. His destination. Walls within walls, he thought, steeling himself for the climb.

The outer level had been all branch member houses, dozens of them, all modest and neat, singularly nondescript. It had been easy enough to navigate. All roads led to the center, where the mansions of the Main House stood stately behind their proud white walls. From thereon, security more than doubled. Within lay the living treasures of the Hyuuga Clan. The unsealed. The enslavers of their own kin, he thought, his lip curling in distaste.

His task was to abduct an unsealed Hyuuga child, securing the famed bloodline for the glory of his village. Being that the Main House consisted of less than twenty individuals - the Head, his council, and their heirs - there only existed a single unsealed Hyuuga younger than five, and she was zealously guarded at all times.

Hyuuga Hinata. His mission objective.

He jumped off the wall softly, crouching low on the ground. For a moment, he held still and searched. Chakra signatures of small children were such soft things.

 _In the gardens?_ He thought with some surprise. Though it saved him the trouble of having to penetrate the mansion, he wondered warily if it wasn't some kind of trap. What could such a small child be doing out of bed in the middle of night? Had his plan been found out? Narrowing his eyes, he sharpened his chakra sense, stepping without a sound between rows of flowering plants.

The little girl sat gingerly by a rose bush. She cradled its petals gently, thoughtfully, as she spoke in a hushed tone. ''I think Father is angry with me again. I still can't—my eyes haven't—'' She gave a small unhappy sigh. ''Mama says I might have a little brother soon. Or a little sister. I—''

His hand closed around her mouth, smothering a scream. Slowly, carefully, he spun an illusion that fell over her mind like a blanket. The child swayed, sagging limply into his arms. Heaving her small weight over his shoulder, the shinobi fled into the night.

* * *

Hizashi knelt perfectly still, awaiting command from his leader. Covertly, he watched his brother. He glimpsed the fatigue in the angle of his neck, in the line of his shoulders, in the slowness of his movements. In all their years, he had never before looked so defeated. Hizashi felt the truth sink down his spine with a sudden horrible weight.

In a voice firm and devoid of feeling, Hiashi declared simply, ''The heiress cannot be recovered.''

 _My child is lost,_ Hizashi heard, in the way the lines around his mouth tightened, in the naked edge of grief in his eyes, in the barely suppressed spike of killing intent that hung in the air.

''My lord, if the trackers—''

''They have already fled Fire Country's borders,'' Hiashi said. His face looked as though it had been carved out from stone. ''A false trail was laid. The captor handed off the child to a carrier squad and doubled back, distracting the patrols in his pursuit, as he afforded his allies the opportunity to flee.''

For a moment, the silence was so absolute it was almost oppressive.

Then suddenly everyone in the room was talking at once, with alacrity and aplomb, as if they alone knew the solution -

''A squad of Inuzuka—''

''Send our farthest range Byakugans—''

''Intercept them at River Country—''

The old man's voice rose above it all. ''This cannot be allowed to stand! This is an offense of the worst kind on our clan's honor - the Hyuuga must answer in kind! Our retribution shall be swift and lethal! Call for the Hokage - let it be known that the Hyuuga Clan calls for blood.''

Hizashi frowned. This was a fool's declaration - the Leaf was weakened by the Ninetails attack and the loss of its famed Fourth, while the Cloud had only risen in military strength since the end of the Third War. If it came to open conflict, much would be lost, and the odds were not in their favor. Which was why efforts had been made by the Third to sign the accursed peace treaty between the two villages in the first place - trust Kumo to throw it all back in their faces with such open hostility.

He exchanged a quiet, grave glance with his brother. _I will follow you,_ Hizashi told him silently, _in whatever path you take. Not as your sworn servant, but as your brother. And,_ he thought sadly, the little girl's face rising soft in his memories, _as her Uncle._ For the first time, he was passingly, briefly glad for the seal on his son's forehead. He'd never be stolen from them to serve as the spoils of war.

He hugged Neji tightly when he got home.

''What happened to Hinata-sama? Everyone is talking about her,'' the boy said, staring at him with sharp innocent eyes.

''She is—away,'' he said.

Four days later, Konoha was once again at war.

* * *

 **A/N:** wooo. so i have big plans for this fic, and let me tell you, the butterfly effect is gonna be very, _very_ real. this will probably be posted in snippet format, with a few scenes of hinata growing up in kumo, culminating on the chunin exam arc (which will be wildly, wildly AU in pretty much every way, since, you know, butterfly effect!) where she meets the konoha genin. it will be (eventually) naruhina, or at least lean strongly that way, but probably slow-burn since they meet on opposing sides and all.

please don't forget to review with any questions, suggestions and opinions! thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER ONE

TEMPEST

They cut her hair and gave her new clothes that smelled like antiseptic. Every morning her caretaker stripped her bare, inspected her with a clinical eye, and told her to eat more.

Hinata didn't feel hungry. The food tasted different from home, she thought. But they told her to eat, so she did. They told her to run five laps around the courtyard and strike the metal pole two hundred times and show off her stances, so she did. They told her not to ask too many questions, so she stopped.

 _Where is my mother? When can I go home? Where am I? Why am I here?_

You are here for testing, they said. She didn't know what they were testing or what the testing was for, but she knew they were testing her, and she thought if she was very, very good and passed whatever the test was, she could see Mama again. She thought after they were done shoving bright lights into her eyes and scary needles into her arm, she could go home. But the man in the white coat had said they finished testing, and they'd moved her into this house with the woman who never hugged her.

''Again,'' Akiko-san said flatly. She punctuated the statement with a sharp whack of her metal cane on Hinata's forearm.

The girl winced, twisted her arm into a wider angle, and tried again. And again. And again. Her shoulders were beginning to sag with tiredness, a bead of sweat glistening on her forehead. The red painted lines on the metal blurred together slowly and she fell into a daydream, thinking of gardens and mothers and planting fresh rose cuttings in spring, as she lifted her arms mechanically one after the other.

 _Whack—whack!_ _—_ _whack._

Pain exploded in her arms. Hinata pulled back, her lip trembling. Her eyes were filled with tears. ''I-I don't wanna t-t-train anymore!'' The four-year-old wailed, sobbing hard. She wiped her snotty nose on her sleeve and stared fearfully.

Akiko-san's lips pulled into a prim, straight line. ''Don't be foolish,'' she said, in a long-suffering tone.

''But _—_ ''

The caretaker's hands blurred through seals in a blink. Then she tapped her fingers against the cane, twice, discharging a jolt of electric chakra that thrummed down its length. The iron sizzled.

Hinata shrunk from her. She had been at the end of the shock treatment before. ''N-no! I'll pay attention. _P_ _lease_.''

Akiko-san flicked her a narrow-eyed glance, far from appeased. ''You would do well to remember your position,'' she said, frowning disapprovingly. ''Strive to become useful. It's bad enough you can't accurately reproduce _any_ stances. Or demonstrate the tenketsu blockage technique _—really,_ what use can we expect to get out of you? Here. Strike me.'' She held her arm out. Hinata batted at it weakly. ''With chakra, child. _With chakra._ Can you not do it? What did they teach you? Show me the stances!''

They ran through the beginning stances of Gentle Fist Hinata remembered again. All three of them. Akiko-san wasn't pleased.

''I d-didn't learn much _—_ ''

''Because you couldn't activate your eyes, yes,'' Akiko-san cut in impatiently, sighing, ''I know. Can you still not do it?''

Hinata shook her head mutely. Akiko-san was angry with her. Father had been angry with her, too.

''I would advise you to do that. Soon. _For your own good,_ '' the caretaker said meaningfully. ''It's in your own best interest we get some use out of you. If the returns are not worth the investment _—_ and we've invested _quite_ a bit _—_ it'll be nothing but a failure. And a _colossal_ waste of time. And,'' she hissed, hooking her fingers sharply around Hinata's chin, ''you'll be discarded.''

''D-discarded?''

''Sent away. Forgotten. Abandoned. That's what happens when you fail. And _you_ are failing.''

Hinata stared uncertainly. Was not having the Byakugan a failure? Father had been so angry with her. He had yelled, and told her she was shaming her station as Heir and _—_ was that why he'd sent her away? Had he _discarded_ her? She voiced as much to her caretaker, her wide eyes brimming with tears.

''That's right,'' Akiko-san smiled tightly, bending down to look the girl in the eye. ''You were discarded. And if you don't show promise soon, you'll be discarded, _again._ So don't be a waste of my time. Are you going to be a waste of my time, Hinata?''

Hinata shook her head frantically, biting down on her lip hard.

''Three laps around the training ground, now,'' Akiko-san ordered sharply, straightening.

Blinking back tears, Hinata dashed off as quickly as she could, her head low as she ran. She waited until she'd turned a curve, then ducked behind a tree and let a sob break out, wiping furiously at her eyes. It couldn't be true. Were they really going to throw her away? They couldn't just do that! But Father had _—_ Father had said she was shaming _—_ shaming their family. And then she'd woken up in this strange place full of strange people. She'd called and called and he wasn't there. She'd waited and waited and he hadn't come. He had _discarded_ her. He'd sent her here, and now they were going to send her somewhere bad _—_ and she was _scared._ She wanted Mama.

Mama loved her. She wouldn't discard her. (Then why hadn't she come?)

 _You're going to have a little brother soon, Hinata. If all goes well._

Hinata slapped a hand to her mouth, stifling a sob. Almost desperately, she took off running, her vision blurred _—_ and nearly crashed headfirst into someone's stomach.

The blonde woman sidestepped nimbly out of the way, scowling down at her.

Hinata shrunk back, eyes wide, and bowed immediately at the waist. ''I'm sorry, kunoichi-san! Really sorry.''

The kunoichi cocked an eyebrow at her. Her sharp brown eyes bore into Hinata's own white ones, and a sudden flash of recognition flitted over her face. ''The Hyuuga girl,'' she said mildly.

''I _—_ yes,'' muttered Hinata, shuffling awkwardly away. She wasn't used to talking to strangers. And this woman _—_ the way she moved _—_ Hinata felt slow and clumsy, watching her.

The kunoichi was pretty, with a long blonde braid and a smooth fine-featured face, but her eyes were hard. She looked over the child sharply, her gaze lingered on the purpling bruises on her arms. ''You've been training hard, yes?''

She nodded.

''That's good.'' The kunoichi nodded back. Hinata thought she saw a flicker of pity pass over her face, but it vanished as soon as it came. ''It gets easier,'' the blonde said simply, wiping away at the girl's teary face with a firm hand. ''Close your eyes. Do you know how to count to ten? Yes. Breathe. Good. And to finish your laps—don't run. Slow and steady,'' she said lowly, as if sharing a secret, with the tiniest of smiles.

''Hinata," Akiko-san called, her voice cracking like a whip. She sounded very alarmed suddenly. ''Get over here!''

Hinata trudged obediently back. She cast a rueful glance over one shoulder at the kunoichi who was already gone. Akiko-san followed her gaze.

''Stay away from that creature,'' the caretaker snapped, her face pinched into a scowl. There was something strange in her eyes. She looked almost afraid. ''That's Nii Yugito. That thing is a demon _._ A demon. Stay away from it. If you don't, I can't protect you. Understood?''

''She was kind,'' the child said quietly. Akiko-san gave her a sharp look. ''She was kind,'' Hinata insisted, more firmly. She thought of Yugito-san's hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears. Akiko-san had never touched her face except to frighten her.

For once, she did not wilt under the caretaker's withering stare.

* * *

Hinata did not see Yugito-san again for three weeks.

It was a rainy day. It was a horrible day, because yesterday had been a worse day, which had left her sore and exhausted and generally despondent. She wasn't making much progress, and Akiko-san's patience was beginning to thin. She had ran Hinata into the ground, figuratively, with a fierceness that shocked her, _literally,_ and today the caretaker had simply looked at her and told her to make herself scarce. Hinata should have been thrilled to have a free day for the first time in months—especially when she was so tired—but the blunt dismissal hurt her feelings more than she cared to admit. The prospect of being discarded weighed heavily on the little girl's heart. She knew it was because she wasn't doing well in her training and thought worriedly that not training could only make it worse. She decided she'd do her stretches and her laps, at least, and set out towards Training Ground 17.

But then it started raining.

Hinata attempted to run under it for some time, hoping it would abate soon, but the first strikes of lightning found her huddled fearfully beneath a tree. She wanted to go back home, but didn't dare walk out with all this thunder. She eyed the horizon with growing apprehension.

''If you're scared of lightning,'' a voice spoke cooly behind her, ''you should avoid trees, not sit under them. You want to find the low ground, then crouch with your head in between your knees and cover your ears with your hands. And press your heels together, as this lowers the chances of electricity reaching your heart if you're struck.'' A pause. ''Moreover, all buildings in Kumo are insulated by seals, if you can get to one in time. And of course, nearly every ninja higher than chunin level in this village is skilled enough with lightning manipulation to redirect a bolt. That includes me—so you can stop shaking.''

Hinata turned, and Yugito-san was there, standing primly under the rain with tired eyes and her long braid half-undone, watching Hinata watch her.

''Yugito-san,'' Hinata said, bowing hastily.

''Hyuuga Hinata. So we meet again.''

She looked down, suddenly shy, and saw the kunoichi's sandals were stained a deep crimson. ''Yugito-san,'' Hinata gasped. ''You're hurt.''

''That's not my blood,'' the woman said darkly.

Hinata blinked. Silence fell between them. In the distance, thunder boomed, over the pouring rain.

''May I ask how you know my name?'' Yugito-san asked suddenly, her eyes narrowed to cat-like slits. ''I don't recall introducing myself.''

''My caretaker told me once.'' And she had remembered. How could she forget the name of the only person who had tried to comfort her? ''She said you... she said you... she did not say nice things.'' Hinata bit her lip. ''But you're so nice. Are you really a demon?''

''Yes,'' said Yugito-san, as though she had been asked whether the sky was blue.

''Oh.'' Hinata didn't know if Yugito-san was going to eat her now, as the stories went, but she had questions that had been left burning inside her for weeks and she couldn't hold them in any longer. ''You said it gets easier... the training. H-how? How do you know? And... and why... why are you—a demon?''

Yugito-san blinked slowly. For a moment, it seemed like she wouldn't answer at all. When she spoke, her eyes were distant. Hinata had to strain to hear her voice over the pouring rain. ''Once, when I was very young, I had to leave home. I had been tested and found to be a good match for one of the Great Tailed Beasts. They wanted me to give them the power of the Nibi. They told me I had to be strong for the village. I had—three caretakers. I trained every day. Give us this power, they said. Be strong. Be in control.''

Hinata blanched. She couldn't imagine having three of Akiko-san, all telling her to be train harder and be stronger. But Yugito-san was so smart, she bet her teachers had never had to hit _her_ with a cane. She had just done everything they'd wanted, that was why it had been easier for her. Not like Hinata, who couldn't learn anything no matter how hard she tried.

''I was so weak _._ ''

The little girl startled, blinking rapidly. She stared at Yugito-san in confusion.

''I trained until I couldn't stand, see, or think. They wanted more. Always more. For a while, I thought I was going to die. I thought no one would care if I died. But then I realized _I_ would care. I had to be strong for myself, and so I had to be strong for them and for the village. When you become a human prison, you realize you are your own cage, and the only way to free yourself is being in control. You are your own key, Hinata.'' Yugito-san leaned down, her firm, strong gaze catching her own. ''As long as you are alive, the only one who can defeat you is yourself. Everyone else can only teach you. And everyone has something they can teach you, no matter how small or weak or hateful they seem. Learn a little from every one you meet, and believe in yourself, and you'll go as far as you can for as long as you can.''

Hinata considered her words for a long while. It seemed—when she said it like that, Hinata realized she _was_ learning. Akiko-san, while unpleasant, had taught her how to run for a long time without getting tired, how to bandage her hands after training and how to throw kunai and shuriken. Father, while stern, had taught her to keep her guard up and how to roll with her falls. Mother, while gentle and small, had taught her to tend flowers and how to braid hair. Yugito-san, while a stranger, had taught her about lightning and about not giving up.

She bit her lip, uncertainly. ''Yugito-san? Do you think you can teach me something? I-it's important.''

''What is it?''

''How to, um, how can I use my eyes?'' She said, looking up hopefully.

''I can't teach you that,'' said Yugito-san, ''I'm not very knowledgeable about bloodlines, or doujutsu in general.''

Hinata only sighed.

''But perhaps I can teach you something that might help. Hinata, have you tried feeling your chakra?''

The girl reddened. ''I've _tried_ ,'' she said miserably. ''But I don't... feel anything? I sit there and—just breathe. And feel myself breathing and... nothing.''

Yugito-san laid a hand on her stomach, enfolding it in a blue glow. Hinata started. ''I-it itches.''

''I just channeled my chakra inside you. The itch you feel is your system rejecting the foreign chakra. Try to focus past the itch. Your chakra is being displaced to make way for mine. Can you feel it move? No? No, don't rush. We have time. Just focus on your stomach—tell me when you feel something.''

They sat down cross-legged in front of each other. Yugito-san spent the next twenty minutes sending pulses of chakra of different strengths and sizes into her stomach. When she sent a strong, really slow one, Hinata thought she felt something twitch inside her, very faintly, like a muscle, only deeper. She blinked.

''I... I think I feel it,'' she smiled, triumphant.

''Good. Now try to move it. From your stomach, up to your shoulder, and down your arm to your hand.''

That proved to be even harder. Hinata spent the next two hours trying, without much progress. She could drag the chakra from her stomach with great effort, but she'd lose control of it somewhere along her arm. To activate a doujutsu—like the Byakugan—she'd have to move the chakra from her stomach to her hands, and from her hands all the way up to her eyes as she did the hand seals, and likely a lot more of it than she was molding right now, Yugito-san explained dryly. Hinata didn't even want to think about how hard _that_ would be, but somehow she felt strangely... light? She'd learned something. She knew what she had to work on. And she knew she wasn't going to give up.

By the time Yugito-san got up, dusting herself off, and said she had to go, she still hadn't gotten it right. But the kunoichi only smiled, patting her a little on the shoulder, and told her to keep practicing. Hinata promised she would.

Overhead, the storm had broken.

* * *

It had been a month since that day in the training ground, when she had first felt the chakra pull inside her. Hinata had practiced every single day since, from the moment she was done with dinner until she went to sleep. Sometimes, if she woke up a little early, she'd practice until Akiko-san came to call her for breakfast, too. She could move the chakra around from her stomach to her hands and back, or through her hips to her legs, or even through her neck all the way up to her eyes. Eyes.

It was a dark quiet night. The air held that unnatural stillness that usually preceded one of Kumo's frequent thunderstorms. Hinata was sitting cross-legged on her bed, running over the hand seals for the Byakugan. The hand seals Father had taught her, what seemed like forever ago.

 _Horse, to gather up chakra. Tiger, lifting just index fingers, to balance it. Boar, with nearly straightened fingers, to strengthen it. Hare, to make it smoother. Rat, to find the delicate pathways that led to the eyes. Dog, to slowly channel it through the right places. Horse, to gather up a second wave. Dog, to channel it further. Hare, to make it as smooth as can be. Rat, to delicately spread it over her retinae. Boar, with nearly straightened fingers, to strengthen it through cornea and sclera. Snake, with the right index finger lifted straight up, to pull all the pieces together._

''Byakugan,'' she whispered, her voice filled with wonder. There was a hum behind her eyes, and a grey blur on the edges of her vision, but then she blinked, and it was gone. She had used too little chakra then. She'd wanted to start small—better than overloading her eyes and hurting them, Yugito-san had told her once. Sighing, Hinata pulled a little more and tried again, going over the seals carefully.

In an instant, her whole world changed.

There was a horrible, breathless moment of disorientation, as she felt her eyeballs bulge and warp inside out in their sockets, then the world washed out in black and white, with a sudden wondrous clarity. Everything seemed brighter, infinitely _closer_ and _sharper_ , so vividly delineated it was like seeing it again for the first time, from every angle at once and under a dozen magnifying glasses.

Hinata smiled widely, happily, because she could _see._ She could see the clouds gathering outside. She could see the empty streets. She could see the bird perched on the tree in the yard. She could see her toes in the complete dark. She could see Akiko-san sitting in the living room, reading her book. She dashed over without thinking twice, a feeling of pure triumph blooming warmly in her chest.

''Akiko-san,'' she called.

''Yes?'' The caretaker did not turn to look at her.

Feeling extraordinarily daring, Hinata perched herself on the seat across her. ''That looks like a nice book, Akiko-san,'' she said mildly.

''Hmph.''

''What is it about?''

''Isn't it past your bedti—'' The woman paused, eyes widening, then gave her a small nod.

Hinata beamed.

* * *

 **A/N:** There you have it! I have a few questions for you, reader. Feel free to answer whichever ones you want, if any.

1) Would you be interested in seeing a little sneak peek of Konoha next chapter? Seeing some of the larger scale consequences of the war?

2) What skills would you be interested in seeing Hinata learn/develop? Swordsmanship, elemental jutsu, summoning contract? I'll not necessarily adopt every suggestion, but I'm open to any fun ideas. As a result of being abducted, Hinata won't have a proper Gentle Fist teacher and will only learn whatever she manages to teach herself, so she can and will branch out into other ninja arts.

3) Did you like this chapter? Did you like the characters? Any constructive criticism?


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